Case Number 21079

Muay Thai Fighter

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All Rise...

Judge David Johnson is a Pad Thai Fighter.

The Charge

When the body is the ultimate weapon.

Opening Statement

I can picture it now…You're wandering through the aisles of your
favorite big-box retail store and your eyes happen upon a DVD that has
motion-blur images of buff Thai dudes pounding on each other. The name of the
movie is Muay Thai Fighter. On the back of the case is more motion-blur
fighting and a description filled with words like "fight" and
"underground" and "action-filled." You being you, someone
who enjoys under-the-radar import actioners—especially those of the Muay
Thai flavor—scoop it up, check out, fly home, and pop the disc into your
player. Two hours later, desperate for combat thrills, you fire up Double
Dragon 2.

Facts of the Case

Muay Thai Fighter is not an action movie. It's a coming-of-age saga, a
tale of three friends who grew up in a small fishing village and learned the art
of Muay Thai boxing, then went to the big city and got into all kind of trouble.
There they learned the value of love, honor, and friendship. And during some
downtime there was a bit of boxing.

The Evidence

It's not that Muay Thai Boxer is a bad movie. For what it is, a drama
that happens to have some boxing scenes in it, it's not bad. You've likely seen
a lot of these elements before—three close friends take different moral
paths, redemption is tragic and bloody, happy endings are in short
supply—but it's executed well. I bought into these guys' relationships
(yes, even the fat one!) and the script possessed enough narrative turns to keep
the story interesting.

What irks me is the marketing misdirection. Despite what the demographic
researchers over at Lionsgate are trying to tell you, Muay Thai Fighter
is not the second coming of Ong Bak. Or third coming. Or
thirtieth coming. It's a completely different movie whose focus is placed
squarely on methodical plot and character development rather than wowing you
with stunts and fight choreography.

Look what this film has done to me, making me lament more plot and
character development in a Thai action flick. Once you flip that conscious
switch and tell yourself "So, I won't be getting awesome fighting, fine.
Let's see what the story does for me…" that's when you might be able
to enjoy the on-screen happenings.

What you do get for mayhem are abbreviated kickboxing sequences. Virtually
all of the set-ups take place in a ring in front of a crowd, so don't expect
outrageous, no-holds barred exchanges. The blows land with some force, but it's
all played to be more realistic than outlandish, serving the serious, gritty
tone of the film. Which is fine, though it makes for some milquetoast fights.
Even the big bouts, when our heroes square off against two final bosses—a
deadly white boy Muay Thai savant, and a weirdo assassin—are
disappointingly brief and uninventive.

I suppose I'm just desperate to find the next Tony Jaa (seeing as the
original has now opted to film incoherent nonsense) or the next overseas action
gem. Lord knows Hollywood isn't interested in making R-rated beat-em-ups
anymore…so Thailand, you're my only hope.